Leonard was a little excited and a little worried about meeting Demoness, whose code name was "Empress of Pentacles".
The excitement was naturally not because of the ridiculous reason "Tarot Club sent Demoness", but because he was given up on the idea of training his subordinates by "Old Man" several times. After I got my own "Minor Arcana Brand", I was able to meet Minor Arcana of other Tarot Club members, and I had a strange feeling of "if someone else has it, I have it".
As for the worry, of course it was because it was not the first time he met the other party, and the result of that meeting was not very good. In the process of tracking the other party, Leonard ran into a trap set by a higher-level Demoness, and almost died in the sewer. He was also beaten by his own walking stick with the characteristic of being alive. The other party also managed to escape alive, and he might still have some resentment in his heart.
Anyway, I have been promoted to "Spirit Warlock", and with the help of Old Man, I caught a few useful Spirit Body. Even if I meet another Demoness who was hiding behind the scenes that day, I will still be able to fight... He pressed the "Word of the Sea" cane hidden under his windbreaker, and his worry slowly faded away.
At this moment, Spirit Body, who was patrolling overhead, issued a warning that something was approaching quietly at the other end of the alley.
Leonard immediately turned around and looked around. Passerby walked by Passerby from time to time on the streets outside the alley, but found nothing unusual.
It should be "invisible", huh, I've seen it many times when I was at Tingen... He muttered, straightened his windbreaker, exposed his hands, took two steps forward and said:
"Is it 'Empress of Pentacles' Miss?"
He didn't say any nonsense like "I mean no harm" and maintained a "cold" attitude that belonged to the official Beyonder, which was conducive to maintaining an advantage in the subsequent conversation.
This was what Old Man taught him. Although he didn't know what its use was, he decided to follow the old man's experience.
After a while, a figure was outlined in the center of the alley. The petite figure wrapped in a somewhat familiar hood and cloak immediately made Leonard recognize that she was Witch who escaped from him last time.
"It's me. You must be the Beyonder of the church that 'Empress'Miss said."
Witch said in a gentle and gentle voice.
Leonard knew that the other party had seen his face in the last battle and already knew his appearance, so the confirmation in his words was greater than the doubt, and he nodded and said:
"Just call me 'Star'."
Since Angel has told his Tarot Cards code name to "Empress of Pentacles", there is no need for him to conceal it. Moreover, this can make the other party think that these organizations using Tarot Cards as their code names are organizations affiliated with Goddess Church, thus avoiding exposing the existence of Mr. "Fool".
Sure enough, Witch's head under the hood moved slightly, and he said as if he had solved some doubts:
"Okay, Mr. 'Star'."
As she spoke, she took off the hood that covered most of her face, revealing her long brown hair, tall bridge of nose, and thin, wide lips. These somewhat Neutralized qualities combined into a breathtaking beauty on her face. She was more harmonious than the last time Leonard saw her, making people unable to take their eyes away.
Beyonder who is worthy of being "Demoness" Pathway, no... she should have been promoted to "Pleasure". The last public execution that made a big fuss should have allowed her to complete the corresponding role... Leonard suddenly realized that it was a bit impolite to stare at a young woman. She slowly looked away and said as if to hide her embarrassment:
"The last battle at Iron Carbon Street, I..."
"It doesn't matter, we didn't know each other's identity at that time, and what I did was indeed inappropriate in the eyes of the official Beyonder."
Before he could finish speaking, "Empress of Pentacles" cheerfully revealed the matter, which made Leonard even more embarrassed. He always felt that his usual casual attitude was not suitable for such an occasion, and his expression changed again and again.
After a while, he regained his composure and continued:
"Let me confirm first. Are you currently Sequence 7 or Sequence 6?"
"Sequence 6, 'Pleasure'."
This Minor Arcana Brand answered immediately, his words were short and neat, quite in the style of the official Beyonder.
It was probably taught by Angel... Leonard cursed and nodded:
"This will make the next action much safer... Since you have become Goddess Church's informant, and you need to complete the corresponding work while obtaining the asylum of the church, I think 'Empress' should have told you in advance, right?"
He turned his head and looked at both sides of the alley, and the spirit above his head that was used to monitor the surroundings also gave feedback. After confirming that no one was paying attention to their conversation, Leonard continued:
"It is said that Aurora Order who believe in 'True Creator' have returned to Backlund. They are used to setting up Beyonder gatherings and organizing wild Beyonder to serve them... You should pay attention to the recent trends of East Borough and those Underground Gathering. You don't have to go by yourself. You can use familiar Beyonder to ask them to find out if there is an organizer named Mr. or Ms., for example..."
"Mr. K?" Demoness in front of him tilted his head and took over the topic and said, "He appeared at East Borough about a month ago and held several gatherings. I have attended... This gathering is held on time every week. The buying and selling of items and the handling of illegal members are fairly fair. For the time being, I can't see the characteristics of the followers of the evil god."
Leonard did not expect that the first time he came into contact with "Empress of Pentacles" there would be corresponding gains. He was overjoyed and asked:
"Did he issue any special commission?"
"Except for looking for followers of 'Fool', there is nothing special... By the way, there are a lot of Low Sequence Potion formulas being traded at the party, and the proportion of members who have become Beyonder is also higher than the previous parties I attended. This may be worthy of attention?"
Believers of Mr. "Fool", aren't those us? Well, Minor Arcanas don't know their identities yet... Leonard's expression stiffened for a moment, and he immediately replied:
"The church has also noticed this, and it may be related to the previous attack and suppression of Underground Gathering after 'Great Smog'... You continue to pay attention to the trends of 'Mr. K' and report to me or 'Empress' regularly... My contact information is..."
He gave the address of East Borough's church for receiving anonymous reporting letters. After the other party wrote it down, he took out a few Slumber Charm, "Dream" and other Charms made with silver sheets as the base from under his windbreaker, and gave them to "Empress of Pentacles" as support for her actions.
As for money, since he joined Tarot Club and bought the "Word of the Sea" cane, his savings have bottomed out and there is nothing he can do for the time being.
Fortunately, this Demoness didn't care much. After putting away Charm, she said respectfully and left invisible. This time she seemed to have used some new techniques to make Leonard's floating spirit unable to detect its movements.
Knowing that I immediately improved my method after discovering her invisibility, I learned quickly... Leonard looked with satisfaction at the direction in which the opponent's back disappeared. After a moment, he recalled Spirit Body, tightened his hood, and hurried away from the other direction.
"Old Man, I shouldn't have exposed anything this time, right?"
He turned his head sideways and whispered out of habit.
"It exposes the fact that you haven't had any contact with young women for a long time," the old voice in his head sneered mercilessly. "You were not so nervous when you surrendered the evil spirit and completed the ceremony to be promoted to 'Spirit Warlock'."
Why am I nervous... Leonard muttered silently, left the alley, looked up, and walked towards North Borough's location.
He had to catch another "party" in the evening.
Empress Borough, Earl Hall mansion, Audrey's bedroom.
Audrey, who had finished washing up in advance and prepared to rest early, turned away from the maid, squatted beside the bed and stroked Susie's head, and said softly:
"Still the same as before, help me guard the door and don't let anyone disturb me."
"Okay, Audrey," Golden Retriever, who had already digested "Psychiatrist" Potion and could be promoted to Sequence 6 as soon as Potion gathered the materials, replied in a eloquent voice, "There won't be any danger this time, right?"
It had noticed something strange in its master's solemn expression and attitude.
"It doesn't matter, after all, I am already 'Dreamwalker'."
Audrey said with a smile, and couldn't help but recall the night when he was promoted with the help of Mr. "Fool" three days ago after receiving "Dreamwalker" Beyonder Characteristic from Miss Empress.
Even though a few days had passed, she still recalled from time to time in the dead of night the perfect world she had built deep in her dreams under the influence of Potion:
The parents live in harmony, the two brothers are no longer inseparable, a peace agreement has been signed between major countries, and benign reforms are being continuously improved within Loen. The poor have received help and got out of the quagmire, the rich have donated money and devoted themselves to charity. Even the wild Beyonder does not have to evade the pursuit of the church and can walk under the sun...
It's a pity that it was just a beautiful dream. If I fell into addiction and failed to break away, I'm afraid my spirit would have been lost and my body would have become a cold monster...
She thought with some fear, and after Susie obediently left the bedroom, she locked the door, lay down on the soft big bed, fully clothed, and closed her eyes in the dim light.
After a moment, deep red light enveloped Audrey, and the familiar feeling of weightlessness came. She opened her eyes again and found that she had arrived in the palace filled with Gray Fog, sitting on the high-backed chair belonging to "Justice".
Different from the past, the "Lies" mask she had sacrificed in advance was placed on the table in front of Audrey. Besides her, there were only three figures in the venue, "Empress" beside her, "Star" diagonally opposite, and "The World" at the end of the long table opposite Mr. "Fool".
"Great, everyone got here on time."
The deep and hoarse voice of "The World" came, and Audrey naturally turned his eyes to the other party, and then fell on the dark brown cover and ancient-looking book in front of him.
This "temporary gathering" belonging to only a few Tarot Club members was jointly convened by "The World" and "Empress", and after Audrey was promoted to "Dreamwalker" and stabilized her status, she had some premonitions:
This operation may be related to the "dream".
But why should it be done in the country of Mr. Fool? Is it necessary to enter the dream of a certain member, such as Mr. "Star" who has seen the existence of "Second Blasphemy Slate" behind his back?
Just when Audrey had some guesses, the words of "Star" dispelled her doubts:
"Is our exploration today related to this book?"
The new member said in a more casual manner, pointing to the ancient book.
Whether Mr. "Fool" is present or not, his change is the most obvious among all the members... Audrey couldn't help but think, and looked at the "world", looking forward to the other party's answer.